My Journey With Weight Loss – What to Wear When Working out

Well I did it, upped my intervals today so that I walked 2 minutes then ran 3 minutes for 10 intervals (up from 8 last week). I admit the last 2 we a little more challenging but in general it wasn’t that difficult. Cardio wise I am great but my legs were a bit tired by the end of it. Bottom line is I ran for 30 minutes today and it didn’t kill me.

Up until I was in my late teens I took dance classes with this lovely artistic (read extremely eccentric) woman who had danced on Broadway and in various films during the 1930’s. She used to have this saying, ‘horses sweat, men perspire and women glow’. Umm, not me. I sweat and I mean sweat heavily and always have. As I matter of fact I am sure I start sweating at the thought of working out. The challenge is what do you do when your workout sessions are 1 1/2 hours long? Trust me being in soaking wet clothing trying to workout is not pleasant. My chiropractor came up with a great suggesting, moisture wicking clothes (I had never heard of them) and she sent me off to Eddie Bauer. I bought two pairs of their workout pants as well as a thin jacket made of the same material. I was able to get them on sale by buying a size too small but of course by time I really needed to wear them they fit great. I have to say that has made a huge difference for me as now I am reasonably comfortable even when running (though note, there is always some sort of terry cloth close by).

The next important issue is your feet. Now I have always invested in good supportive walking shoes (due to the bad knee) however, when I first started doing my marathon walks each day it began to kill my feet. I had to buy a foot bath so that every night I could soak them. My chiropractor again came up with a recommendation to purchase Incrediwear socks which are compression socks. What a difference that made to my feet. Yes, sometimes after I have put in an 18km day I still need to soak my feet but those socks have helped immensely. Then I started running and that means a whole different type of shoes. My coach insisted I not just buy some brand name running shoes but instead go to a store that caters to runners. Fortunately we have such a store close to where I live. This was quite the process as they made me try on numerous pairs of shoes and for every pair I had to show them my gait so they could determine the proper fit. At the end of the process (and a good chunk of money later) I had the best shoes possible for my foot size and for my gait. They also suggested I get some moisture wicking socks which helps prevent you feet from rubbing if you sweat like I do. So, walking days are the compression socks, running days are the running socks. I should note, which ever of these you decided to use, both are quite costly.

So what about during the warm weather? For me that means a tank top and shorts as I am walking to the beach and back a couple times a day. As a matter of fact after last summer I had the darkest tan I have ever had on my legs (note that means I was the colour of the average caucasian person during winter months). Having said that, as someone who has had a pre-cancerous mole removed I take extreme caution. I apply a good SPF sunscreen 1/2 hour before I head outdoors. I also always wear a brimmed hat as well as sunglasses (the sunglasses are due to cataracts that have developed in both eyes and the optometrists advised to always wear sunglasses in the sunlight). While being comfortable in warm weather is important, so is protecting your skin. Trust me I learned that even with SPF 50 sunscreen the sun still gets to your skin. Just make sure you are not trading off comfort for safety.